Brazil’s Supreme Court moves to avoid new riots

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading the judiciary response to the January 8 Brasília riots, on Wednesday issued unspecified arrest warrants against anyone who may try to block roadways or public buildings across the country. 

As our Daily Brazil newsletter explained, the government reinforced security in Brasília and several state capitals as far-right radicals call for a new wave of protests today, called by far-right agitators a “Mega National Demonstration For The Takeover of Power.” A crisis cabinet has also been put in place.

In his ruling, Justice Moraes said a criminal organization is behind the new protests and that they would be a continuation of Sunday’s episode of domestic terrorism, when throngs of Jair Bolsonaro supporters stormed and destroyed public buildings in the federal capital.

Sunday’s events unfolded largely due to omission from local authorities, which failed to prepare to deal with the large crowds scheduled to appear in Brasília that weekend. That omission led to the issuance of arrest warrants against two former top security officials in the capital — the former security secretary and the former police commander.

“The existence of a criminal organization, whose acts have been taking place regularly for months, in [Brasília] and in several other states, is a strong indication of the connivance and acquiescence of the public powers with the crimes committed, revealing the serious compromise of public order and the possibility of similar acts being repeated if circumstances remain the same,” Justice Moraes wrote.

Justice Moraes also ordered the encrypted messaging app Telegram to block all channels and users who share content about Wednesday’s scheduled protests. The company must also surrender data on such users to the Supreme Court within two hours, or face daily fines of BRL 100,000 (USD 19,220).

This time around, Justice Moraes — who during the election faced accusations of overstepping his authority — wants to deal with the threat preemptively. 

In the lawsuit that motivated the ruling, the Solicitor General’s Office asked for the temporary suspension of the right to protest. But in the decision, no mention of that request is made — Justice Moraes only mentions restrictions to road blockages and the occupation of public buildings. To The Brazilian Report, the Supreme Court’s press office said “only what is stated in the ruling must be considered.”

By all accounts, Sunday’s riots were not a one-off event. After storming the capital, radicals also tried to storm or block oil refineries, and the government suspects that pro-Bolsonaro groups damaged power transmission towers in the South and North regions.

• #brasília
• #justice
• #violence